Pres Muizzu promises urgent aid as he visits flood-affected homes

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu visited homes in the Male’ City on Sunday, as he assesses damage due to extensive flooding in the capital due to nonstop torrential rain.

President Muizzu and Vice President Hussain Mohamed Latheef visited some of the homes affected by flooding on Sunday night. They spoke to the residents and inquired about their wellbeing and the damage to household items.

They were accompanied by Local Government Minister Adam Shareef Umar, Defense Minister Ghassan Maumoon, Acting Male’ City Mayor Ahmed Nareesh, and officials from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

After residents briefed President Muizzu regarding the damages, he shared the concerns with his team and discussed providing relief.

Observing the damage to household items in one home, President Muizzu promised to send “immediate help.”

According to the latest information shared by the NDMA, floodwater seeped into over 100 homes in Male’ City.

The rain, which began lashing the Male’ area on Saturday night, continues well into Sunday night, resulting in widespread flooding.

In addition to damaging homes, the bad weather has also resulted in cancellation of several flights at the Velana International Airport (VIA).

Maldives Meteorological Service initially issued an orange alert for the Male’ area on Sunday, before replacing it with a yellow alert for torrential rain and thunderstorms with gusts of 45 miles per hour.

Maldives has been experiencing bad weather since last week, due to the onset of the Northeast Monsoon (Iruvai Monsoon).

The national weather forecast service said the bad weather has been exacerbated by a low-pressure area formed over the Arabian Sea.

Soldiers have been deployed across the country to dewater flooded streets and stack sand bags in entrances of buildings to prevent flood water from seeping in.